At Least Four States Have Admitted To Combining COVID-19 Tests, Providing Misleading Information About The Spread Of The Virus

Texas, Georgia, Virginia, and Vermont have combined data from two separate coronavirus test results, potentially painting a misleading picture of the coronavirus spread, according to CNN.

The four states have all confirmed that they have been combining two numbers to their data totals: viral test results and antibody test results. Viral tests are administered by nose swab or saliva sample. These tests look for direct evidence that someone currently has Covid-19. Antibody tests, on the other hand, use blood samples instead to look for biological signals that a person has been exposed to the virus in the past. Adding the results of both tests results into one total has the potential to provide an inaccurate depiction of the virus’s spread. While Georgia health officials have claimed that they are following CDC guidelines with combining the two tests, Texas, Virginia and Vermont have taken steps to correct the misconstrued data over the past several days.

“You only know how many cases you have if you do a lot of testing,” Elizabeth Cohen, CNN’s senior medical correspondent said. “If you put the two tests together, you fool yourself into thinking you’ve done more testing than you have.”

Combining the two results could drastically distort a state’s ability to monitor active infections, which is a key factor in allowing states to ease quarantine restrictions.

In the United States, over 1.5 million citizens have tested positive for coronavirus, with over 93,000 succumbing to the disease, according to Johns Hopkins University.